Lance Russell and Dave Brown are doing commentary and are in the usual WMC-TV 5 studio in Memphis, Tennessee.
Opening Contest: Doug Gilbert & Tommy Rich (7-4-1) beat Reggie B. Fine & Ken Raper when Gilbert pins Raper after a powerbomb at 4:19:
Fine has lost all semblance of his personality since turning because USWA believed that a babyface should not have a pimp gimmick. During the squash, Gilbert and Rich do a split screen promo about how they will regain the tag team titles from PG-13. The match drags as Fine gets beat on a for a long time until giving Raper the tag and Raper is backdropped into a powerbomb for the finish.
Corey Maclin interviews a security guard, who is trying to boss people around in preparation for Brian Lee’s arrival.
Russell interviews Diamond Mike. Mike, who has a football helmet, says he does not know who Marcus Dupree is. So, Russell shows Mike the book The Courting of Marcus Dupree and Mike issues a football challenge to Dupree.
David Haskins & Marcus Dupree (1-0) beat Crusher Bones & Jack Hammer (w/Diamond Mike) (0-2) when Dupree pins Bones with a schoolboy at 3:18:
For whatever reason, Big Daddy Cyrus has been missing on recent broadcasts, so Bones is now teaming with Hammer. Haskins is put in peril during the match so Dupree gets the hot tag and can look good. After the hot tag, heel miscommunication with the football helmet allows Dupree to schoolboy Bones for the win. Rating: ¾*
In an effort to spike attendance at the Mid-South Coliseum, the USWA hypes the card for this Monday’s show: Chris Kanyon vs. Ken Raper, Gorgeous George III vs. Scott Studd, David Haskins vs. the Spellbinder, Jack Hammer & Sweet Georgia Brown vs. Reggie B. Fine in a mixed tag team match, Marcus Dupree vs. Big Daddy Cyrus in a football challenge match, USWA Tag Team Champions PG-13 against Doug Gilbert & Tommy Rich, USWA Southern Heavyweight Champion Brian Christopher vs. Brian Lee, and USWA Unified World Champion Bill Dundee vs. Razor Ramon. A few lucky fans can also get their pictures made with Ramon!
Jerry Lawler does a taped promo from his home. He hypes a USWA show in Tunica, Mississippi before warning Dundee against dropping the title to Ramon on Monday night. It was weird seeing Lawler play promoter and wrestler in the same segment.
A squash match from the WWF airs where Razor Ramon beats the Black Phantom. The Phantom wore a mask and underneath is David Heath, who would achieve more recognition on the independent circuit as the Vampire Warrior and later in the WWF as Gangrel. During the squash, Vince McMahon does commentary by himself and reprises his pro-WWF, anti-USWA persona from 1993. At the end of the match, McMahon asserts that Lawler is the Phantom and that means Ramon is better than anyone the USWA has to offer.
Bill Dundee gets a music video to highlight his life on the road. The song that plays over it is Sawyer Brown’s “Gypsies on Parade.”
Maclin takes some time to put over where the USWA is going as part of its weekly house show circuit.
Brown interviews USWA Unified World Champion Bill Dundee. Dundee says Jerry Lawler is not getting the first shot at his title because he has been too busy in the WWF. Dundee concludes by saying that Hulk Hogan and Ric Flair did not win the world title in Memphis and Ramon will be no exception.
Brian Lee’s head of security interrupts the commentators and says that Lee has arrived. The camera follows the security guard to the parking lot and Lee gets out of a limo to head to the ring. Lee tells Russell that his security guard’s name is Jimmy Harris and that he has signed a big money contract with the USWA. In Memphis terms that means Lee might be making $50 a night or something. Lee’s promo time is cut off so that fans can see another match.
Scott Studd (12-3-1) pins Chris Kanyon with a sunset flip at 2:11:
Kanyon is sporting a mock Stanley Cup to reinforce his New York Rangers hockey gimmick since the Rangers were the defending champions in 1995. Instead of giving the opener four minutes, this should have gotten that time. Kanyon scores a near-fall from a spinning elbow off the ropes but a blind charge allows Studd to roll him up for his fourth straight win.
After the match, Studd invites Lee into the ring but Lee just distracts him so Jimmy Harris can run-in and nail him in the back of the head with his walkie talkie. Lee proceeds to pin Studd with one finger in the ring.
Brown interviews USWA Southern Heavyweight Champion Brian Christopher. Christopher says he does not need anyone to watch his back to build up his future title defense against Lee.
Non-Title Match: Brian Christopher (USWA Southern Heavyweight Champion) (15-6-1) beats Sergeant O’Reilly after a superkick at 3:02:
Jimmy Harris tries to cost Christopher the match by distracting him, but O’Reilly fails to capitalize, gets sent to the floor, and then Christopher slingshots him back into the ring to finish with a superkick.
After the match, Christopher welcomes Lee into the ring, but Harris decides to join in to give the heels a two-on-one advantage. Lee tries to hit Christopher with Harris’ walkie talkie and when Christopher blocks it, Harris pulls out a billy club and nails him from behind. Lee and Harris proceed to leave the building and when Christopher gives chase, he is too late.
Brown interviews Wolfie D, who refuses to forfeit the USWA Tag Team Championship despite J.C. Ice’s neck injury. Ice walks out and promises to let Doug Gilbert and Tommy Rich know if his neck has healed this Monday in Memphis.
Gorgeous George III tells Russell that he is not concerned about Wolfie D because he “always has an ace in the hole.”
Wolfie D (w/J.C. Ice) (3-1-1) beats Gorgeous George III (7-5-1)
Managers just disappear without explanation in the USWA, as Big Business Brown is not around anymore and we have no idea why. Both men wrestle for thirty-one seconds and we head to commercial. After the commercial break, Russell tells fans that Wolfie D won and that is it for today’s show. Okay, then!
The Last Word: Even if Wolfie D-Gorgeous George III match was not going to set the world on fire not airing much of it is WCW forms of terrible. Brian Lee’s arrival thankfully puts an end to the Bill Dundee-Brian Christopher program that was spinning its wheels. The USWA is hoping Razor Ramon can boost attendance in Memphis too. According to a Kevin Nash interview, Scott Hall agreed to do some dates in Memphis to earn extra money because he and his wife were unhappy with his recent payoffs in the WWF.
Here were the results of the April 3 card in Memphis at the Coliseum courtesy of prowrestlinghistory.com. 1,100 fans attended the show, fifty fewer than attended the previous week.
-Chris Kanyon (0-5) beat Ted Allen
-Gorgeous George III (7-6-1) beat Scott Studd (13-3-1)
-David Haskins (2-0) beat the Spellbinder (7-5)
-Reggie B. Fine & Miss Texas defeated Jack Hammer & Sweet Georgia Brown
-Marcus Dupree beat Crusher Bones (2-3)
-USWA Tag Team Champions PG-13 (11-6-1) defeated Doug Gilbert & Tommy Rich (8-4-1)
-Brian Lee beat USWA Southern Heavyweight Champion Brian Christopher (16-6-1) to win the title
-Razor Ramon pinned USWA Unified World Champion Bill Dundee (11-4) to win the title
Backstage News*: WCW is hiring USWA owner Jerry Jarrett as a consultant. As part of the deal, WCW will send wrestlers from the Power Plant to Memphis to train and WCW gets to use the USWA’s 36-station television network for its syndicated programming. This will mean that WCW now has more syndicated stations available to it (190) than the WWF (140).
*USWA business is booming in Louisville, Evansville, and Nashville, markets that have been on the decline over the last couple of years. The hot PG-13-Doug Gilbert & Tommy Rich feud is seen as a big reason why. Louisville and Nashville are even drawing an equal number or more fans to its venues than Memphis. This indicates that PG-13 are a bigger draw outside of Memphis.
*Razor Ramon’s appearance against Bill Dundee had no impact on Memphis attendance.
*The company in hoping that Brian Lee can become their new Sid Vicious-like monster heel, but Lee is not getting over.
*In talent relations news, Big Daddy Cyrus has left the territory, which is why Crusher Bones had to take his place against Marcus Dupree in Memphis.
*Backstage news is courtesy of Dave Meltzer’s Wrestling Observer for April 10 and April 17.
Up Next: USWA Championship Wrestling for April 8!
